Christopher Hope
Christopher Hope (born February 26, 1944) is a South African poet and novelist, who is known for his controversial works dealing with racism and politics in South Africa. Life Hope was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to Dudley Mitford and Kathleen Margaret Hope. As an Afrikaner in South Africa, Hope questioned the special treatment of Caucasians in that country. These feelings would eventually work their way into Hope's most famous writings. Hope was educated at the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Natal. He served in the South African Navy beginning in 1962. Hope married Eleanor Marilyn Margaret Klein February 18, 1967. The couple would eventually divorce. Hope worked briefly as a journalist before leaving on a "self-imposed" exile to London, England. His autobiographical piece, White Boy Running, chronicles this time of Hope's life. Career Hope's poetry was first published in Whitewashes, a poetry book that was released in 1971. In 1974, his poetry was published as Cape Drives, a collection of original prose. Hope's first novel, A Separate Development, was published in 1981. The novel was banned in South Africa for its overt criticisms of the Apartheid government Hope's second novel,Kruger's Alp, was considered a stark contrast to his first work. Kruger's Alp was described by the New York Times Book Review as "a novel in the form of a dream allegory". Despite its departure from Hope's earlier writings, Kruger's Alp was greeted with critical acclaim. Hope's other novels include The Hottentot Room, Darkest England, and My Mother's Lovers. (See Selected Bibliography below) Hope has also penned a memoir entitled White Boy Running, several plays, and two pieces of juvenile fiction. Recognition Over the course of his career, Hope has earned a number of prestigious writing awards. Cape Drives won Hope the Thomas Pringle Prize and a Cholmondeley Award. A Separate Development was the recipient of the David Higham Memorial Prize.Prizewinning Literature: UK Literary Award Winners by Anne Strachan, publ. 1989 by Library Association Publishing Ltd ISBN 0-85365-558-8 Hope won the Whitbread Prize in 1984 for Kruger's Alp.Costa Book awards, Past Winners Hope has also been awarded the Professor Alexander Petrie Award, the Silver Pen Award, and in 1992 short listed for the Man Booker Prize with "Serenity House".The Man Booker Prize, writer's profile for Christopher Hope He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1990 Publications Poetry * Whitewashes (by Robert Michael Kirkwood & Christopher Hope). Durban, South Africa: privately printed, 1970. * Cape Drives. London: London Magazine Editions, 1974. * In the Country of the Black Pig, and other poems. London: London Magazine Editions, 1981; Johannesburg: Ravan, 1981. *''Englishmen''. London: Heinemann, 1985. Novels * A Separate Development 1977; Johannesburg: Ravan, 1980; New York: Scribner, 1980. * Kruger's Alp. London: Heinemann, 1984; New York: Viking, 1985. * The Hottentot Room. London: Heinemann, 1986; New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1986. * Black Swan. London: Hutchinson, 1987; New York: Harper & Row, 1987 * My Chocolate Redeemer. London: Heinemann, 1989. * Serenity House. London: Macmillan, 1992; Boston & Toronto: Little, Brown, 1992. * The Love Songs of Nathan J. Swirsky. London: Macmillan, 1993; Boston & Toronto: Little, Brown, 1993. * Darkest England. London: Macmillan, 1996; New York: Norton, 1996. * Me, the Moon and Elvis Presley. London: Macmillan, 1997. * Heaven Forbid: A novel. London: Macmillan, 2001. * My Mother's Lovers. London: Atlantic, 2006; New York: Grove Press, 2007. *''Shooting Angels''. London: Atlantic, 2011. Short fiction *''Private Parts, and other tales''. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. *''Learning to Fly''. London: Minerva, 1990. *''The Garden of Bad Dreams, and other stories''. London: Atlantic, 2008. Non-fiction * White Boy Running. London: Secker & Warburg, 1988; New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1988. * Moscow! Moscow!. London: Heinemann, 1990. * Signs of the Heart: Love and Death in Languedoc. London: Macmillan, 1999. * Brothers Under the Skin: Travels in Tyranny. London: Macmillan, 2003. Juvenile *''The Dragon Wore Pink'' (illustrated by Angela Barrett). London: A. & C. Black, 1985; New York: Atheneum, 1985. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Christopher Hope, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Sep. 28, 2014. See also * List of South African poets References External links ;Prose *André Brink, A Fork in the Road (2009) - reviewed in ;About * Christopher Hope at the British Council * Interview with Christopher Hope at The Guardian *Banned: A Q&A with South African writer Christopher Hope Category:Living people Category:1944 births Category:South African poets Category:South African novelists Category:Afrikaner people Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Category:Cholmondeley Award winners Category:20th-century poets Category:African poets writing in English Category:English-language poets Category:Poets